This Monday, the European Parliament approved a report on mental health, in which it calls on Member States to prioritize and improve access to mental health services, especially for vulnerable groups.
In the document, approved with 482 votes in favor, 94 against and 32 abstentions, the MEPs recommend that the European Commission give priority to mental health, as an integral part of citizens’ health, in European and national policies. According to the World Health Organization, more than 150 million Europeans live with mental illness.
Warning that anyone at any time can have weakened mental health, MEPs consider it necessary to address mental health in all policies, and pay special attention to groups such as children, adolescents, young adults, LGBTQIA+ people, patients with chronic diseases and disabilities , the elderly, immigrants and ethnic minorities, explains a statement from the European Parliament.
And as mental health is still stigmatized, MEPs consider it urgent to create information and awareness campaigns on mental health, and call for initiatives to be promoted to combat the stigma of people with mental health problems.
The rapporteur of the document, Sara Cerdas, stated that one in two people in the European Union (EU) lives or has experienced depression or anxiety, that almost half of young people say they do not have the mental health care they need and that the Suicide is the second cause of death in this age group.
“We call for the creation of the European Year of Mental Health, a European strategy for mental health and increased funding through a ‘mission’ for mental health in the Horizon Europe programme. It is time to prioritise, abolish stigma and invest in mental health,” said the person in charge.
Quoted in a statement, Sara Cerdas highlights that the central objective of the report is based on the need to significantly increase direct financial support for mental health in the EU but also on the creation of a European strategy for mental health.
Source: TSF
